Graphing and statistics
Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.
Use pretest data to make three graphs and explain a study goal. Keep actual scores and simulated practice values clearly labeled.
1. Open your materials
2. Start the work
Open the WebXam Baseline sheet for your section under Today's materials. Use your report, or the worksheet's SIMULATED practice values if your report is unavailable. Label which source you used.
Show all 8 required steps
- Open the WebXam Baseline sheet for your section under Today's materials. Use your report, or the worksheet's SIMULATED practice values if your report is unavailable. Label which source you used.
- Section 1: read the two-paragraph briefing and answer the two reading questions using the sentence you cite.
- Section 2: copy only the scores your report provides. Write not reported for a missing domain score and leave its bar blank. If you use the complete simulated example instead, label the whole dataset SIMULATED.
- Section 3: draw the bar graph of your baseline by domain with the 65 percent pass line, axis starting at 0.
- Section 4: use the anonymous class data provided in class or Schoology. Draw a histogram and find the bin containing the median. Calculate an exact median and range only if individual score values are provided; bins alone do not give exact values.
- Section 5: choose a target score, draw the straight line from your baseline at week 0 to your target at week 12, compute the points per week, and predict your October 2 checkpoint.
- Section 6: write the claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph that defends your target and names what would make you revise it.
- Section 7: complete the vocabulary-in-use items and the three self-check items, then hand the sheet to Mr. Mendoza before you leave.
Lost your place? Find the first unfinished section on your baseline sheet. Check the table before the bars, the class tally before the histogram, and the target before the growth line. Continue at that section.
Check your work before submitting
- I can label actual and simulated data and leave missing scores marked not reported.
- I can build a bar graph whose axis starts at zero and read a value against a reference line.
- I can find the median bin in grouped data and explain why I need raw scores for an exact median and range.
- I can compute points per week from a straight-line projection and predict a checkpoint value.
- I can defend a target with evidence and name the assumption a straight line makes.
3. Turn in your work
DueCheck Schoology- Hand in
- Completed WebXam Baseline sheet: baseline table, bar graph, class histogram with median bin, growth line with points per week and the October 2 checkpoint, and a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph. Report exact median and range only when raw scores are available.
How to submit and name your file
Hand the paper sheet in before you leave. If you were absent, print the PDF from this page or pick one up, complete it, and bring it to the next class.
In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.
PDF upload helpYou get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
Find this lesson's Schoology assignments
These are existing assignments for your section. Follow the directions in the assignment you are working on; this list does not add new work. Check Schoology for each deadline.
Link will not open? Open Schoology, choose your course and section, and find the title shown above.
How this lesson connects
Clear claims → honest graphs → careful evidence records → a case investigation. Use evidence to explain what you know and what you still need to find out.
Case background, evidence, and file details▸
How today connects to the case
Where: Statik Sound, a neighborhood recording studio. Who: Marcus Bell, 34, owner and producer of Statik Sound, found on the studio floor behind the mixing console on a Monday morning by his business partner.
The scene in our room is the scene in the case: tape at the door, the outline and torso behind the console, the lower body beneath a fallen speaker cabinet and an acoustic moving blanket. Responders left the scene as found, pending investigation.
Your job: By Day 18 your team names the manner and cause of death and backs each one with at least four exhibits across three different evidence types. Every claim stops where the evidence stops.
Today you will calibrate the data tools this case will lean on: mean, median, range, reference ranges, and choosing a graph that tells the truth.
Remember: A number means nothing until it stands next to its reference range.
- Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene
This John Hay case practices skills connected to the PLTW activity above. Follow today's directions for the assigned work.
Missed class? Open today's worksheet and briefing. Use simulated data only if the worksheet or Mr. Mendoza provides it, and label it "Simulated data." If a required measurement or file is missing, ask Mr. Mendoza. Do not invent results.
Evidence released today
The investigation begins on Day 4. Before then, practice the safety and evidence skills you will need.
Exhibit means one numbered piece of evidence. Thread means the team lane it belongs to (Scene, Trace, Serology and DNA, Toxicology, Medical Examiner, Records). Exhibits are handed out on paper in class on the day they are released, and the same files are attached to that day's Schoology assignment.
Notebook reminders
- Investigation Day 2 pack (paper in class; the PDF is above and on the Schoology assignment)
- Investigative Notebook: Day 2 Cornell page
- Investigative Notebook: Vocabulary bank: reference range entry with your own analogy
Completed WebXam Baseline sheet: baseline table, bar graph, class histogram with median bin, growth line with points per week and the October 2 checkpoint, and a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph. Report exact median and range only when raw scores are available.
Hand the paper sheet in before you leave. If you were absent, print the PDF from this page or pick one up, complete it, and bring it to the next class.
Schoology assignment: Wk2 D02 · Numbers That Do Not Lie to You (PLTW 1.1.1)
What the evidence can and cannot prove
- Classroom evidence supports a classroom finding. It cannot convict a real person or diagnose a real patient.
- A hair consistent with a person proves a hair like theirs was present, not that the person was, and never when.
- A fingerprint proves touch, not when or why. A pattern class narrows a crowd; only minutiae can name one finger.
- A presumptive test says maybe. Only a confirmatory test says blood, and only DNA says whose.
- One value outside its reference range is a flag, not a verdict.
Make only the claims your evidence supports. Explain what you still cannot tell.
Need help? Warm-up, timing, and directions▸
💡 Big idea: and a well-labeled graph turn raw measurements into evidence a scientist can defend.
- 0-10 minRead the worksheet briefing and identify the data source
- 10-25 minCopy reported scores and draw the baseline bar graph
- 25-40 minGraph the anonymous class tally; distinguish exact statistics from grouped estimates
- 40-60 minDraw a 12-week growth line and calculate the checkpoint
- 60-75 minExplain the study target; complete vocabulary and self-check items
- 75-80 minKeep a copy for the take-home exam and turn in the worksheet
- • Yesterday you took the WebXam pretest and built a study plan. Today the numbers on that report become data.
- • Use the 65 percent reference line printed on the worksheet. The 12-week line is a study model, not a confirmed testing date.
- • Make three graphs: your starting scores, the anonymous class score distribution, and a possible growth line.
- • Start the bar graph's score axis at zero. Label every graph's axes, units, and scale so another person can read it.
- • A baseline records where you started. A simulated value is practice data and must be labeled.
- • A bar graph compares categories. A histogram counts values in intervals. A line graph shows a planned change over time.
- • Mean describes the average, mode the most frequent value, and the spread around the mean. Exact calculations need raw scores, not just score bins.
- • A straight growth line assumes equal gains each week. It is a plan to check, not a guarantee.
PLTW connection and today's work
No new myPLTW work today. Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene continues next class with chain of custody. Safety catch-up is only for students who have not passed or are new. Today's data work is the printed WebXam Baseline sheet.
Today's stopping point: Today: baseline graphs. Next class: chain of custody, with safety catch-up only if needed. The finished take-home exam is due September 8 at 11:29 PM.
Today uses John Hay teacher-created practice. It builds skills for the course, but does not count as completing an official myPLTW activity.
Course connection
- Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene
Use the turn-in directions at the top of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.
Show another explanation or a smaller first step
Need help? Choose a starting point
Lesson resources: reading, slides, and vocabulary▸
Students often think A graph can fill in missing scores, or a planned growth line guarantees a future result.. The trap: A graph can only show the values you have. Missing scores stay not reported. A growth line assumes equal gains each week; later checks may show that the plan needs to change.
I measured the resting heart rate of four classmates, three trials each, then summarized.
- Mean (Trial averages): 72 beats per minute
- Range: 84 minus 64 = 20 beats per minute
- Claim from the graph: heart rate varied most for Sample D, so I would re-check that person's measurements before trusting them.
My graph has the four samples on the x-axis (labeled 'Sample') and beats per minute on the y-axis (labeled 'Heart rate, bpm'), with a title 'Resting Heart Rate by Sample'. Every axis is labeled and has units, which is the SOP for a trustworthy figure.
| Sample | Trial 1 | Trial 2 | Trial 3 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 70 | 72 | 71 | 71 |
| B | 65 | 64 | 66 | 65 |
| C | 83 | 84 | 82 | 83 |
| D | 68 | 76 | 72 | 72 |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the data-analysis launch task: a clean data table with the mean, range, and a labeled graph of your measurements.
- Name the variables and include units.
- Enter observations without changing the raw values.
- Check labels, calculations, and patterns before interpreting the data.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Save the labeled graph image to your notebook and write one sentence stating the mean and range in words.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Graphing and statistics. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Play the cold open at the start of the unit to set the scene. Each recording is AI-generated and simulated (fictional callers, no real people or student data).
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.
Practice: try a question, then check your answer▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
Your class data only show how many scores fall in each ten-point bin. Can you report the exact class median and range? Explain.
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Missed class or ready for more?▸
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Open your section's baseline worksheet under Today's materials. Use its worked example and clearly labeled simulated data if you have no report. Complete the same worksheet and keep a copy for the take-home exam.
WebXam Baseline worksheetHand the paper sheet in before you leave. If you were absent, print the PDF from this page or pick one up, complete it, and bring it to the next class.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (SDS format)- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedGo to Schoology to turn this in. Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf. If you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
This week
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